Edgar Wright has never been shy about wearing his fandom on his sleeve, and now the director of The Running Man, which recently dropped on digital, has found a way to rope both Star Wars and Star Trek into his latest sci‑fi project. While hyping the Glen Powell–led Stephen King adaptation, Wright tipped his hat to Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, with a perfectly timed Star Trek gag that turned a decades‑old fandom rivalry into a free promo.
For fans who grew up on the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger Running Man film, the remake’s tone feels closer to King’s novel, but still playful enough to support a good‑natured troll. In an Instagram story (via TrekMovie.com), Wright posted an image that read, "Sorry @markhamill." In the hilarious photo, the two hugged as The Running Man's director flashed the famed Vulcan salute alongside the Star Wars icon! Hamill playfully pointed at Wright and stuck out his tongue in response.
Knowing that Wright has tiny connections to both Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Wars: The Last Jedi makes the moment with Hamill even better. As Wright’s movie joined a stacked 2025 slate of genre releases, the director was jokingly needling the Star Wars legend with Trek‑flavored shout‑outs, aligning The Running Man with the brainier, more political tradition many Trekkies claim as their own.
The result is a win‑win: Hamill gets a knowing nod from a fellow geek, Star Trek fans get to laugh at their universe being used as the punchline in a Star Wars–adjacent joke, and The Running Man plants its flag as the next sci‑fi event both fandoms will want to argue about.
The Running Man leaned hard into dystopian spectacle, following Powell’s Ben Richards as he signed up for a lethal reality show where “runners” must survive 30 days while being hunted on live television for escalating cash prizes.
Wright’s signature energy is all over the film, from propulsive cutting to jet‑black humor about a society that treats human lives as disposable content. For those who haven't seen The Running Man yet, be sure to check out the trailer below.
For more Star Trek content, visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And The Running Man is now available on the usual VOD platforms, including Fandango at Home.